By Brittney Haldorsen ‘25, Chip Downes-Le Guin ‘25 Elise Kim ‘25, Erin Chow ‘25, Hadley Cress ‘27, and Maddie Snyder ‘26

Photographed top row from left to right: Jewel Sparks, Emily O’Sullivan, Jonah Weaver. Photographed bottom row from left to right: Shannon Rush, Tegan Morton, Morgan Kerr-Staudinger. Collage ensemble by Brittney Haldosen ‘25.

With just eight weeks left in the school year before Immerisives, another chapter at CGS begins to wind down. But for the seven teachers new to the Upper School, it marks, for the majority, the end of their very first year here.

As the school year wraps up, it’s a fitting moment to reflect on the fresh energy and perspectives they’ve brought to campus. Over the past seven months, Emily O’Sullivan, Jonah Weaver, Morgan Kerr-Staudinger, Tegan Morton, Jewel Sparks, and Shannon Rush have each contributed their own unique personality, experience, and teaching philosophy to the CGS community.

Interested in meeting these six amazing teachers? Simply read the article below!

Emily O’Sullivan

By Brittney Haldorsen ‘25

Emily O’Sullivan’s journey to become a dedicated math teacher began in her college years.

Reflecting on her early influences, O’Sullivan recalled, “ I really loved my chemistry teacher in high school. But math has always been such a presence in my life that I was like, ‘well I’ll just continue to take a couple of math classes and wean myself out of it.’”

Ultimately, it was the math department that drew her in, and she soon realized that math, not chemistry, was her true passion.

Her decision to pursue a career in math was also influenced by her father, who was a math teacher. This familial connection helped solidify her path.

O’Sullivan’s professional journey started with an administrative role at Lewis &Clark Graduate School, where she supported a grant aimed at encouraging more math and science majors to enter teaching programs. A year later, she was asked to teach a math class and run the tutoring program at Lewis & Clark.

O’Sullivan then returned to San Diego State to earn her master's degree, furthering her studies in math teaching. In 2013, she moved to Portland to attend college at Lewis & Clark. She graduated in 2017 with a bachelor's degree – double major in Math and Chemistry.
That same year in Aug., O’Sullivan “started a job at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, working as a program coordinator for an NSF grant to support more math and science majors going into teaching.”

The next year, she switched departments at Lewis & Clark to the College of Arts and Sciences on the undergraduate campus. She worked there as an instructor for a math course, as well as director of the math/science peer tutoring center.

In 2021, O’Sullivan moved back to San Diego to start her master's degree at San Diego State University, taking a teaching position at SDSU. In 2023, O’Sullivan completed her Master of Arts in Mathematics degree and moved back to Portland.

Once in Portland, she took a job for a year as an instructor teaching math at Portland Community College, as well as a job at Lewis & Clark as a program coordinator for a different NSF grant, this one focusing on data science education.

Her career has now brought her to the Catlin Gabel School (CGS), a place she knew was special due to a friend's recommendation after attending. O’Sullivan felt an immediate connection during her interview. “It was clear there was a community I wanted to be a part of,” said O’Sullivan.

Now that she is settled into her role, O’Sullivan hopes to start an Irish dancing club within the next year to share her culture with others. With a background in Contra and Irish dancing–both step (a precise rhythmic solo style) and social (a more interactive, group-based style) –she’s excited to bring that experience to the CGS community.

O’Sullivan’s artistic talents also shine through in various other forms, from block printing and watercolor to sewing and photography.

Her interests and dedication to education have made her a cherished addition to the CGS community, and we have been lucky enough to have her this year and many more to come.

Jonah Weaver

By Erin Chow ‘25

Picture of Jonah Weaver.

Courtesy of Catlin Gabel Directory.

Growing up a twenty-minute drive from Catlin Gabel School (CGS) in Aloha, Oregon, the new Palma Scholars Director Jonah Weaver shares how his love for teaching and traveling the world has influenced his view on education.

As a child, Weaver resided on a small farm with his parents, older brother, sister, and a variety of animals from horses and cows to chickens and rabbits. Weaver often found himself outdoors, in the forest, describing it as a “pretty idyllic childhood growing up in that space.”

“I just wanted to be a cowboy,” said Weaver when reflecting on his first professional interest as a kid. Inspired by author and illustrator Richard Scarry, Weaver was intrigued by a certain elephant dressed up as a cowboy that “looked like the coolest person in the world.”

In college, Weaver found himself interested in the possibilities of traveling the world through education. Later he was given this opportunity when he volunteered as a teacher in South Africa and Kenya.

Before his work at CGS, Weaver taught at Edison High School on the Jesuit campus for six years while coaching cross country and track.

“Giving experiences to our kids and different cultures is important,” said Weaver who later decided to teach at an international school in Egypt for a few years.

During his time in Egypt, Weaver also navigated challenges from driving to school every day through the crowded streets to interacting with people socially in different settings.

Although new to CGS, Weaver acknowledges CGS’s progressive teaching style adding that he

“love[s] the focus on inclusion of students and celebrating diversity.” He finds the mode of progressive teaching very powerful as it allows students to explore topics they are interested in and who they want to be.

Having previously taught English and history classes, Palma is the “perfect blend” of both global and local issues.

“I can talk and share things that are meaningful to me and by extension hopefully issues kids will be interested in as well,” said Weaver.

Additionally, he also loves the idea of being able to curate his curriculum every year.

“Not only does it make me a better teacher: staying on my toes and keep challenging myself, but also challenging students to find what is interesting and meaningful in their own lives,” said Weaver.

In his first few weeks of school Weaver has been “struck by the warmth” radiated by the students and fellow faculty. Now a part of the CGS community, Weaver is grateful to be in an environment that is accepting. He’s excited to see what his CGS future holds.

Outside of teaching, Weaver enjoys running long distances and spending time outdoors in the mountains. Running has always been a special outlet for Weaver allowing him to reflect on his thoughts while being surrounded by nature.

Weaver is also a parent of two boys: a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, navigating the balance of parenting while “trying to do the things that move me [him] and make me [him] spiritually happy and mentally as fit.”

Morgan Kerr-Staudinger

By Hadley Cress ‘27

Photo of Morgan Kerr-Staudinger.

Courtesy of Catlin Gabel Directory.
Imagine dropping an egg from the roof and it not breaking. Science teacher Morgan Kerr-Staudinger at the ripe age of 12 was able to accomplish this feat with the use of materials that could be found around the house. The experiment she conducted in science club led her to discover a passion for science.

Kerr-Staudinger’s love for science blossomed as she continued her education. In high school, both her chemistry and IB biology teachers helped to further draw her into the subject, inspiring Kerr-Staudinger to pursue a science degree in higher education.

Throughout college, she took multiple science courses and eventually went back to get her master's. This is where teaching first came into the picture.

Kerr-Staudinger worked as a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) while studying for her master's. Being a TA made her realize that teaching chemistry was something she really enjoyed. “That teaching experience kind of sparked the … I kind of like teaching” Kerr-Staudinger reflected.

With this newfound passion for teaching, Kerr-Staudinger moved from Missouri to Oregon and took a year-long course for her teaching master's. However, due to the timing of Covid, she wasn’t able to get a chemistry teaching position.

She ended up working at a public school in West Salem but after four years Kerr-Staudinger wanted to pursue a science teaching role. This led her to search for schools in the area with open science positions and discovered CGS.

After looking into CGS and talking to Marguerite Mckeen who she had worked with at West Salem, she decided to apply for an open position at CGS. While going through the application process and visiting CGS one thing really stuck out: the community.

When Kerr-Staudinger arrived, she was surprised at how strong the community is, specifically “how much … everyone cares and … how nice everyone is.” This is something she hadn’t experienced teaching at other schools.

The previous school she taught at had a much larger class size of 30 kids minimum per class, which made it difficult to build strong relationships with each of her students.

For Kerr-Staudinger, knowing her students and the community is really important. When she was graduating high school she didn’t know half of her peers called on stage. She was excited to be involved in a smaller community where she could connect with the students more one-on-one.

Along with this, she is looking forward to having more flexibility over what she is teaching in her classes. “I am really looking forward to … hav(ing) a lot of agency in the course,” she said. Getting to mold the class allows her to share her love of chemistry with the students.

In the past, she has had to follow a specific curriculum which makes it harder to support each individual student. “I wanted to do that in public school it’s just there wasn’t enough time or resources,” said Kerr-Staudinger.

Outside of teaching, Kerr-Staudinger has been loving exploring the vast landscape of Oregon. So far since moving here she has gone on many hikes “I climbed South Sister or hiked it” said Kerr-Staudinger.

Although fairly new to Oregon, Kerr-Staudinger is excited to continue exploring nature and taking advantage of the gorgeous Oregon coast.

Tegan Morton

By Chip Downes-Le Guin '25

Picture of Tegan Morton.

Courtesy of Catlin Gabel Directory.

Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Tegan Morton is the Director of Inclusive Teaching and Learning in the E&I office and co-leader of the new class Honors Leadership Seminar: Systems Thinking in Action. Through these programs, Morton is working towards the goal of making classes equitable and inclusive for everyone.

Morton's eye for inequality began in high school as the unequal funding for science programs in favor of sports and activities was easily noticeable.

Morton’s love for the sciences, however, began before high school. "I for a very long time wanted to be an astronaut, and I would make Lego moon-based designs because for a while I wanted to be the first female astronaut."

Morton's interest in science continued into college and graduate school where she studied biology but found that this discipline was not

After graduating, Morton ended up at the Hewitt School, a K-12 independent school on the Upper East Side of New York where she worked mostly with the middle school teaching biology, chemistry, and environmental science.

It was during the second half of her tenure that Morton began learning about equity and inclusion for teachers. It began out of all places, at a summer camp for educators.

"It was two weeks of an intensive. We stayed at a boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, all the kids were gone…and it was led by these very experienced mentor teachers," said Morton.

As a part of that experience, "they had us do these conversations about different aspects of identity and how they show up and also how there can be power dynamics attached to those identities." For Morton, the information wasn't new, but it gave her language to help describe it.

After the camp, Morton began doing her own research and eventually led optional groups and workshops for other teachers in the area.

From there, Morton said, "I saw the position here at Catlin and was like, ‘I think that's a good next step for me.’"

Since coming to Catlin Gabel School (CGS), Morton has continued her work in fairness and integration, working with "teachers on their curriculum to be more equitable and inclusive, including alternative perspectives in the classroom, and even just how to structure a discussion so there's equal airtime or equitable airtime in the room."

In addition to these behind-the-scenes duties, Upper School students can see Morton's impact in the creation of circles for C&Cs, and the Leadership Seminar class.

Morton’s excitement to co-lead the class was reflected in the involvement of her class. "There's great thinking and really earnest engagement and I think that says a lot about Catlin students” Morton stated.

With her dedication to improving the classroom for everyone, and teaching students advocacy skills, Morton is helping to shape the future of education both at CGS and beyond.

Jewel Sparks

By Maddie Snyder ‘26

Picture of Jewel Sparks.

Courtesy of Catlin Gabel Directory.

Even in high school Jewel Sparks had, as she puts it, a passion for the Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) community. She has carried this with her into her role as the Upper School Inclusion and Equity Coordinator.

As a kid, Sparks wanted to be everything from an Archaeologist to a Spanish translator. She started as a chemistry major in college and had a brief spurt of passion for environmental science.

Sparks grew up in a suburb just south of San Francisco. She and her twin went to public elementary and middle schools. But in high school, her mom decided they should both attend independent private schools. Sparks applied and then was accepted into a program called A Better Chance, a scholarship fund for students of color to attend independent schools.

Sparks says her experience in High School is part of what fuels her work DEI today. Work began in Willamette University’s admissions office. Where was able to channel that passion for helping the BIPOC community by working to create access to education for historically marginalized communities.

At her high school Sparks, who identifies as black, Mexican, and Filipino, along with being on scholarship when her classmates were not, made her feel singled out.

“I never felt like I really belonged in that place,” she said. “My time in high school was so exclusive, not inclusive.”

Sparks says her experience in high school is part of what fuels her work today.

Sparks then moved back down to San Francisco and worked at an independent school similar to CGS in an admissions capacity. Three years ago she moved back up to the Pacific Northwest and re-started her work in admissions at CGS.

Sparks uses her experiences in high school to guide her purpose of making sure all students feel a sense of belonging at CGS. While she continues her work as the Inclusion and Equity Coordinator Sparks says she is determined to make sure that a sense of belonging is actively cultivated to make students of all backgrounds feel safe and included.

Shannon Rush

By Elise Kim ‘25

Picture of Shannon Rush.

Courtesy of Catlin Gabel Directory.

A new Interim Academic Dean arrived at Catlin Gabel School (CGS) this year with experience as an educator ever since childhood. As a child, Shannon Rush played the role of teacher in her imaginary school and would hand out report cards graded on participation and penmanship to her siblings and cousins.

While Rush debated pursuing a career in engineering during her college years, her lack of enjoyment in the subject and the fact that she was helping all of her friends pass their calculus courses convinced her to pursue her passion for teaching instead.

During her early career, she taught at public high schools in Washington and even taught at the Tsinghua International School in Beijing before coming to CGS in 2012.

During her first 10-year stint at CGS, Rush taught math and would also do a stint as Math Department Chair, and when she wasn’t supporting students she was lending a helping hand to faculty by starting CGS’ instructional coaching program. In 2022, Rush decided to take a break from her teacher leadership position and bring her skills outside of the CGS community. In 2024, Rush conducted instructional design in the business world.

No matter the extensive teaching positions Rush has held at various institutions local and abroad, her teaching philosophy has remained the same. She believes in supporting education in the broadest sense by offering students different learning methods, so they choose what provides them with the most success.

While teaching in Washington, Rush felt students had the opposite experience; she stated that the education system was very “exam-driven”. According to Rush, at the time teacher evaluation was closely tied to performance on the state exam students had to pass to graduate high school.

“I had a lot of students who had recently immigrated to the United States and were required to be in this ninth-grade class without any differentiation or recognition of where their skill set was,” said Rush. “I felt really frustrated because I didn’t have the power and influence to make a difference.”

This year the Academic Dean, Rush has worked closely with the Upper School Head, the Dean of Students, and department chairs to follow her teaching philosophy: tailoring teaching to meet students’ diverse learning needs.

Allowing students to be diverse learners is important to Rush because when she was a student she always felt pigeonholed as “the math student” in school when in reality this was far from true.

“I love learning new things, being curious, and taking on new learning tools,” said Rush. Her love for learning can be seen in the variety of jobs she has worked.

Rush had many other jobs that did not involve instructing in a classroom.

As a college student, she could be seen behind the wheel driving through Alaska’s Yukon territory in a gargantuan tour bus, telling the history of the gold rush through a microphone attached to a thick headset. She worked a job as a barista despite having a strong dislike for coffee. Last but not least, as a birthday clown she brought children’s excitement and a plethora of colorful balloon animals to every party.

Outside of the workplace, Rush enjoys playing strategic board games such as Catan and Dominion with her family. Oregon summers are spent paddleboarding on Lake Wenatchee and when the weather turns she busies herself knitting hats. Other crafts she is currently working on are sticker and tattoo making. Friday nights she plays futsal as a “nice way to kick off the weekend”.

Rush’s goal for the year has been to make those around her feel “seen, accepted, and cared for” in her new role as academic dean.

While each new faculty member comes from a different background and has a unique story, their dedication and passion for teaching are clear. Although the majority of them have only been a part of our community for a short period of time, their contributions to making it a better place are being seen and appreciated by the students they teach and the colleagues they work with.

From clowns to cowboys to Catlin, catching up with the newest members of the Upper School faculty | Humans of Catlin Gabel